5 Things: Mo Therese Hannah

Five Things I Can’t Live Without

Story and photos by Suzanne Kawola/Life@Home

Mo Therese Hannah, PH.D., author of several books, began teaching psychology at Siena College in 1992. “Deep down I had always loved teaching,” she says. “The thrill you get from teaching young people and mentoring them, it’s really just a wonderful career.”

But Hannah is more than just a teacher. After enduring some personal challenges, including a difficult divorce and custody battle, she and a friend decided to help other women who might be having trouble. The result was the first Battered Mothers Custody Conference, held in 2004 at Siena College. “Siena is a very ethically oriented college. They put out the idea — and I love the idea — that all human beings are equal and all human beings have equal importance and you do stand up for people who are disadvantaged,” she says.

Hannah teaches a class she calls Intimate Relationships. “My favorite kind of (clinical) work is couples therapy. My bent is relations, relationships and relationality.” She and a colleague have also developed a program and manual called the EQ Program, which is designed to teach emotional intelligence to children. “Every year, since 1995, we have had a team of students who learn lessons on EQ and then they go and teach it to younger children. I’ve been fortunate. I’ve had a wonderful career and a lot of support even though I have had challenges.”

Her Five Things are:1. Monique’s Ring: One of her four children died from suicide. “I lost my oldest child at the age of 20 in 2007. This was Monique’s ring. She was in college. She was an actress. She was a pure artist, an absolutely brilliant girl: prescient, kind of ahead of her time. We were as close as close can be. She became very depressed and took her life. The reason I bring this up is because it changed my life. It really changed the way I live in the world.”

2. Meditation stones: “When I was in my 20s, I became very involved in alternative Eastern approaches: meditation, yoga, etc. The funny thing is, I completely let all that stuff go. It wasn’t like I rejected it. It was that life took over. When something terrible happens, it’s like a bomb goes off inside of you. I took very seriously the idea of changing my consciousness, whatever that meant. I found a place inside of me that I had never been in touch with before. And, everyday, I go there as much as possible. I go there when I meditate. I just knew if I didn’t, I wouldn’t have been able to cope.”

3. My Keyboard: “Music means a tremendous amount to me. I play with a political folk group called The Solidarity Singers. We are all folk musicians. We play for peace demonstrations and a variety of events. I think music is like the voice of Heaven.”

4. My Kindle: “I am an avid, avid reader. And I just find this kind of device a miracle because, you know when you’re listening to a talk show on the radio and they mention a book and you always think, ‘I’ve got to get that book!’ And then, you forget! With the Kindle, as soon as I hear about a book I’d like to read, I go to my Kindle to see if the book is ‘Kindlized.’ I have right now on this Kindle maybe 165 books.”

5. My Peace Sign: “It was handmade. I got this at the Delmar Farmers’ Market. I actually got two of those; one that I put outside and this one I keep in my office and it says ‘hope.’ The reason I use this for an object is because so much of what I do revolves around generating peace or promoting peace. I come from the era where the peace sign really did mean something. It wasn’t just something you put on a necklace. It meant a dedication to an ethic. I think, without peace, you don’t have a whole heck of a lot of anything.”

One Response

I just came upon this article while Googling people I knew in earlier years. Mo Therese Hannah was one of my supervisors during my psychology internship at the Northport VA during 1991-1992. We kept in touch for a few years afterward, trading holiday cards. I’ve had no idea the challenges she has faced since then. She’s a wonderful person with a lot of energy. Thanks, Suzanne, for writing your article about her.

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